The Love That Was Always Here, But Never There
by Quiet Moon
Summary: She's loved him for years; that much is true. It is for that very reason that she takes a mission that just might kill her -just to hide her shattered heart. But what happens when they meet again? Note: Edited version
1. Prologue

Summary: It's been years since she acknowledged her feelings for him.All she does is think about it, but disaster strikes and what remains is a broken heart.The only distraction, a mission. A mission that could spell her end. Three years later, she's still alive, only to meet the friends she left again.

_thoughts_

_**inner thoughts**_

* * *

The Love That Was Always Here, But Never There

Prologue 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Plot bunnies just keep on attacking me, though they tend to die down after the initial encounter.

The wind rushed past her as she jumped from tree to tree. Her eyes were burning brightly, while inside, she was struggling to control the myriad of emotions. She didn't know why she was doing this, if she was being honest with herself. Her mind said it was to get her mind off of _him,_ but her heart was questioning if it really required circumstances this drastic. If she went through with this, she could end up doing much more then intended. _**Do you know what you are getting yourself into? What the consequences could be?**_

She shook off the voice in her head that had been nagging at her ever since she had been pushed to do this. _I would have destroyed myself by adding another layer to my mask. _Tenten could do nothing but let that thought run through her head as she continued her journey. The voice in her head fell silent after that as well, but the weight of the words that had been uttered still remained. Tenten ducked her head down for no reason plausible and could only allow her feet to take her to her destination.

_There is a time when too much of something will destroy the entire thing. I could not have allowed that to happen. I would have destroyed myself if I stayed_.

She had left Konoha around midday and hadn't stopped to rest once. Now, night was settling in, but Tenten paid no attention to it. She could only make one foot step in front of the other as she traveled out of the Land of Fire. _I did the right thing_. Then, she felt something on her face and stopped out of surprise.

_Rain? The sky showed no sign of rain_. Tenten looked up at the rapidly darkening sky and frowned; there was no rain yet she had felt something touch her face and drop onto her hand. She came down from the shadowed treetops and looked around warily. Nothing seemed out of place, so what? Tenten continued her survey of the area, and when she found nothing she was forced to give into the time and settle down for the night.

She located a small stream nearby that seemed to be filled with clear water. As her face appeared in the water, her eyes widened with realization. Tenten slowly brought her hand up to her face and brushed it, ever so slowly creeping up to her eyes. The split second confirmation brought what had happened only a few hours ago into her mind –had it really been only a few hours- despite how much she didn't want to remember.

Nothing would push it away.

Did she really have to go through it again? It had been bad enough battling her own emotions and finding out the first time –while balancing now regular Jounin assignments (she had dragged Neji down to one of the more popular bars that night when Gai threw a celebratory party for her promotion, _the last one of their team_ she had noted later but paid little attention to, and poor Lee couldn't do much except stare wide-eyed at how strange the bright, colorful neon lights were and occasionally sip from his glass of water. The other three had been _very_ careful to keep an eye on what their teammate took in, not wanting a repeat of that disaster from several years ago)- but to discover it at the very last moment had not helped at all.

Her normally stable façade had been in critical tension after that. It had taken a while to recover from the shaking truth, and even then, Tenten couldn't be sure of what her condition was.

It was all she could do to keep from falling apart.

Little ripples spiraled on the water in front of her, knocking into each other but doing it in such a subtle manner the source of the disturbances could barely be noted. Surprisingly unguarded orbs stared into the water in disbelief.

It just couldn't be…but it was.

Tenten stood up and stared down at her reflection in the water one last time. The very faint trace of tears was gone, with no sign that they had ever existed. She picked her pack up and began to run through the forest again. _I've never cried before. Never._

_**It's because of him. You are in love with him.**_

_I know._ The rain began to drizzle down as she jumped from branch to branch, slowly drenching her.

_I've known for years._

* * *

Tenten was a strong girl; no one could deny that. She wasn't particularly bold in looks, skill, or knowledge, but she was just strong. She had brown hair that could seem darker or lighter than a sculpture of ebony, depending on how light would hit it, and a pair of wide orbs the exact same color. She was known to many as a more than average kunoichi, but not quite to the level of prodigies, and most of all, Neji's teammate. The only female that he interacted with that was outside of his family.

They saw her as an optimistic person, one who would always try to avoid being melancholy, the light when those surrounding her would become darkness. The Naruto of her team, some might say, though without the brash loudness, spiky blond hair, and shockingly bright cerulean blue eyes -that could possibly match the glare given by her other two teammates' teeth if given the chance-, but Tenten had soft brown eyes and hair styled up in a simple style of buns sitting on opposite sides of her head –prepared in less than ten minutes, no less-, also knowing when and how to talk to those who needed it.

Konoha hadn't know much of her until her team had first taken the Chuunin exams, and Neji along with the (currently holding a missing-nin status) Uchiha survivor (prodigy?) had brought flocks of spectators to Konoha for the disastrous event. Even then, her name had not held much weight when it was rarely spoken, but it was after that Team Gai began to become known.

Hyuuga Neji had always been a prodigy, since the beginning of his shinobi career, and he did nothing to deter that reputation as the years went on –save for when he lost devastatingly to Uzumaki Naruto in the finals- he furthered it. They were know as one of the best teams, especially adept in silent and quick assassinations, Tenten's one hundred percent accuracy and Neji's Byakugan being main factors of that, along with the fact that Lee and Gai could prove to be a _very_ good distraction.

So her name became known as a weapons mistress, one who would never miss her target,and teammate of the Hyuuga prodigy and the greatest taijutsu specialists in generations. Even as an average one, she was known.

And so the world was shocked when it heard the truth.

* * *

There you go. Chapter one, edited version. I like this one much better. If it still stinks, please tell me so I can hit myself with a water bottle or something else.

If you've already reviewed for this chapter when it was utterly horrible (which I thank you for) and are reading this again but cannot post any comments, please PM me. I would like to know how this one is.

-Quiet Moon


	2. Secrets?

Summary: It's been years since she acknowledged her feelings for him. All she does is think about it, but disaster strikes and what remains is a broken heart. The only distraction, a mission. A mission that could spell her end. Three years later, she's still alive, only to meet the friends she left again.

_thoughts _

_**inner thoughts **_

* * *

The Love that was Always Here, but Never There

Chapter 1: Secrets?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Plot bunnies just keep on attacking me, though they tend to die down after the initial encounter.

"_Souryuu Tensakai!" _(1) _Torrents of weapons rained down from the sky towards the Hyuuga. He stood in his clan's traditional stance, his eyes closed, and breathed at a steady rate. As the weapons came within striking range, his eyes snapped open and he went into action._

"_Kaiten!" _(2) _The whorl of chakra sprang up around him and sent the weapons scattering and back to their user. Tenten grinned. This was not over yet. As her own projectiles came flying at her, she sent chakra to her fingertips and attached them to the weapons, successfully immobilizing them. She sent extra threads to pick up the weapons on the ground as well._

"_Watch out Neji!" The Hyuuga prodigy only had time to look up as Tenten sent her weapons at him once more before he set into his stance again._

"_Kaiten!" The projectiles that Tenten sent seemed to have no more effect than the previous attack until Neji realized that only a few had flown off course. Tenten had quickly detached her chakra strings from the ones that had, and was grinning as she kept a hold of the successful ones. As Neji spun quickly, his eyes were able to flit to her fingertips that held more chakra than usual. That might have been expected as she was using chakra strings, but she was sending a continuously strong stream of chakra through her fingertips. His eye widened a fraction on a centimeter as he realized what she was doing. She had trapped him. He abruptly stopped spinning, putting a small frown on Tenten's face and quickly performed a set of hand seals. When the commotion had stopped, Tenten's weapons were lying in_ very_ close together in a crater._

_Where Neji should have been, there lay a replacement impaled with her weapons._

_Tenten sighed and called out, "Okay, Neji, I know you're there!" The Hyuuga answered her call by walking towards her, looking rather disgruntled. She gave him a smug smile, settling down on the earth. _

_"Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"_

_Neji shot her a look, but Tenten showed no sign of sympathy. If anything, her grin grew even wider. "It was an unorthodox but useful way to use your weapons." Tenten shook her head. Of course. The great Hyuuga prodigy would never lower himself to admitting that she had penetrated his defense, if only a little. Tenten would have loved to tease him more, but she wouldn't do that to him, no matter how much she really wanted to see a sign of him being humble. She gave a short laugh, which Neji looked at her oddly for, and looked at him playfully. She probably would have continued to tease him, if not for the rather reproachful look that Neji gave her. Something about him always did stop her. She decided to take pity on the prodigy instead and ask him for help to ease his wounded pride._

"_You saw how my weapons only cut part-way through your Kaiten before bouncing off, right?" Neji nodded. "Well, how do you think I should pour my chakra in so that I don't waste more than necessary? It would be really useful if I could get it right." Neji seemed to ponder this for a moment._

"_Chakra control is not something I specialize in, Tenten. What you are asking me is how you could manipulate your chakra to penetrate the Kaiten completely; such an act has never occurred before. I don't study how to take down my own techniques, Tenten." He said this in a nonchalant manner (one Tenten could never understand how he did) as he sat down besides her on the grass. Tenten flopped backwards to stare at the sky and looked over at him appreciatively._

"_Well, as I can see that wasn't exactly the information I wanted, I have to give you credit for not making it sound as harsh as you probably could have." He sent another disgruntled look at her, which she just laughed at._

**Of course, if it had been anyone else who said that, you would have complained.**

It's Neji. I might have done that when we were younger, but not anymore. He's not the prick of a prodigy he was six years ago.

_"Tenten!" Tenten snapped her attention back to him._

"_Hm?"_

"_I said that you could ask Sakura-san for help." Tenten stared at him. Of all the people for Hyuuga Neji to recommend for something, why would he choose Sakura? Why was he even recommending someone in the first place? _

"_What?" She voiced her thoughts to him. Neji's white eyes looked at her exasperatedly. _

"_Tenten. Hinata-sama has said many times that Sakura-san's chakra control is one of the best in the village."_

"_Oh." Neji rolled his eyes-an action that would have made Tenten spring right up from her resting spot and point several especially lethal weapons at him, demanding to know who he was and what he had done with the real Hyuuga Neji, had he done it years ago- at her less than eloquent answer. "I'll go and look for her then."_

"_Hn." That was better. _That _was more like Neji. She got up from her sprawled position and turned to leave. She called out to him a she jogged off the field._

"_Thanks for the tip, Neji!"_

_As she left the field she questioned herself about the fact that there had been an odd look on Neji's face when he said that he had mentioned Sakura._

_

* * *

Thunk._

_Thunk._

_Thunk._

The sound of each kunai hitting its target perfectly rang throughout the clearing. Tenten looked dully at the weapon-impaled dummies and continued to throw her weapons aimlessly around the clearing. Each one hit its mark with a dull _thunk_.

It had been well over an hour since she had thrown the first projectile, and that activity seemed to be the only thing to do after the troubling thoughts that had begun to run through her head after she had left training with Neji. Tenten knew that there were only a handful of females he respected, one being the Godaime Hokage. She knew that he did hold some sense of respect for her as the bondage of being teammates and sparring partners had made their mark over the years, but she couldn't help but wish that maybe he could feel something else towards her.

Though she had made no attempt to deny the fact that she was in love with Hyuuga Neji (at least to herself) she knew he would not be happy if she suddenly decided to declare undying love for him (though that was probably true) and begin acting like a ridiculous fan girl, so she had hidden her feelings. Seeing as she was trying to hide something from _Neji_, she had to make sure that he wouldn't notice. She had succeeded in making her apparent feelings for the prodigy seem to be only those of a close friendship, forged from the bondage of being teammates for years.

This illusion had paid off in other ways as well. None her fellow kunoichi had noticed the endearment she held for Neji and had not bothered her about it. Now though, Tenten was wondering if this was a good thing. She knew that as Neji's teammate, she would probably be held as the biggest threat in catching his attention to those who were attracted to him. If they had taken in the implication that she held no romantic interest in him, perhaps they had been encouraged and went on to attempt to catch his attention.

Her thoughts wandered back to Sakura for some reason, as she had never really heard Neji mention her before. Tenten had heard _Lee_ mention her (one would have to have no usage of several senses not to notice his claims of love and praises toward Sakura) before but never Neji. Of course this might have had something to do with the fact that the Hyuuga seldom spoke much at one time at all but the curiosity still ran through her mind.

She was so absorbed into her thoughts that she didn't hear when someone called out to her. When the newcomer found herself ignored, she called out to the weapons mistress again. "Tenten!"

Tenten almost fell out of her perch at the sudden invasion of quiet. When she recomposed herself and settled back onto the branch she had been sitting on she finally got a look at the visitor and was a bit shocked. The newcomer, or rather _newcomers_ were staring at her oddly as she was gaping at them and they had witnessed her nearly falling out of a tree. She finally managed to find her voice.

"What is it Hinata? Naruto?" The former frowned at her slightly and the latter just raised an eyebrow in curiosity. While this might not have been abnormal for Naruto, seeing the Hyuuga heiress openly express her disdain at something was not something one expected to see. _Someone's been getting confidence exercises_.

It might have also had something to do with the fact that Naruto seemed to have wrapped a casual arm around the quiet heiress.

"T-tenten, is everything all right? You didn't respond as quickly as you normally would have, and you seemed to have been troubled about something." The soft voice was full of concern but still held some sharpness to it that was silently inquiring about what exactly had been on her mind. Naruto didn't bother to hide his thoughts though.

"What were you thinking about, Tenten? And why are you staring like that at us?"

"It's nothing Naruto," she said, "I have to ask though…what _are_ you two doing together? And did you come here for some other reason? I don't see myself as someone you'd want to seek out on a regular basis." She indicated towards their intimate position as she said this. As if on cue, Hinata immediately started to turn pink.

"U-um, well y-you s-s-see…." Tenten looked at the stuttering girl, amused. This was a normal action to see Hinata do though exactly what the reason for the blushing was piqued her interest. Tenten snuck a quick glance at Naruto. Even _he_ was looking uncomfortable!

That was definite. Something was going on between them, and Tenten was not going to let them go without finding out what.

"What is it? It's obvious that you two are together, so what did you need me for?" Tenten teased them gently.

"W-w-well um…"

"DoyouthinkyoucouldbreakthenewstoNejisothatIwon'tgetcastratedbyhim?" Tenten blinked.

"What was that?" Naruto took a deep breath.

"Could you break the news to him? I don't think that he'd hurt Hinata-chan…but I don't think that he'll make any promises about me, and since you're his best friend, I figured he wouldn't blow up at you as much."

Slightly mortified pale lavender eyes stared up at her after the blonde's request. No doubt the normally withdrawn girl was having a hard time revealing this, and the choice of her _boyfriend's_ (Tenten was going to have a hard time in getting used to referring to Naruto as one who was capable of that role) had probably disgruntled her a little. She stared back at them placidly before asking another question.

"Sure, but as it's rather obvious that Hinata didn't want to tell anyone about the fact that you're together, why are you telling me, and in doing that, telling Neji?" Hinata really had to get someone to record the fact that she had probably broken the record for how red someone's face could get out of embarrassment. Though Tenten had to admit, Naruto might give Hinata a bit of a run for her money in terms of blushing at the moment.

"Well, you see, Tenten, it all started on this warm spring day, when the birds were chirping, and I was up with the sun to appreciate all of nature's beauty," Naruto started, "when-"

Tenten cut in, "Just get to the point Naruto." She said this gently though, to give the already fiercely red couple a little space. Naruto sighed a bit mournfully.

"Okay. Long story short, Ino caught us and blackmailed us into telling everyone that we knew about the fact that…Hinata-chan and I were together." Tenten had to hold her soft chuckles in. She couldn't resist teasing them a bit more though.

"Really?" she asked in a slightly sing-song voice, "What exactly was this blackmail?" Naruto slumped and buried his head in Hinata's hair, too exhausted to continue with the explanation. Tenten heard a squeak of "Naruto-kun!" emitted by the object of the affections when Naruto muttered something that she couldn't hear into Hinata's hair. The said female looked up uncertainly to meet Tenten's eyes.

"S-s-she threatened to spread the news all over Konoha before the sun went down today, and the first person she would s-start w-with w-would b-b-be-"

"-would be Neji," Naruto finished flatly, his voice muffled from his head's position on Hinata's. Tenten decided to finally take pity on the two and give them her answer.

"Okay then. I'll tell Neji when we meet up for training tomorrow, and I'll try to make sure he doesn't run off to try to kill you when he finds out," Tenten said with a faintly amused smile. Naruto had finally raised his head from its slouched position and in response to her last sentence, his left eyebrow started twitching; Hinata started fidgeting.

"T-thank you Tenten." She looked over at the quiet girl and opened her mouth to reply but Naruto cut in before she had a chance.

"We would've asked Sakura-chan to do it, but Hinata-chan said that we shouldn't bother her since she was busy with her medic duties." Naruto looked fairly put out at this. Tenten furrowed her brow in confusion as she narrowed her eyes at the two.

"Why would you ask Sakura? She and Neji aren't that close, and she rarely sees him unless I have to drag him to the hospital for a checkup, or they're on the same mission." Naruto looked at her curiously.

"Didn't you know Tenten?"

Tenten looked at his suspiciously. "Know what?" she asked. Naruto looked at Hinata uncertainly who seemed to have just realized something, the telltale sign in the widening of her eyes.

"Uh…Sakura-chan and Neji are together," Naruto said almost carefully. Tenten stared at the pair.

"Is this some kind of joke? Because last time I checked, Lee, Gai-sensei, and I were questioning if Neji was asexual." Naruto started snickering at the offhand comment about the Hyuuga prodigy, but Hinata looked at her concerned.

"Tenten, did you really not know?" Hinata's lavender tinted white eyes bored into her, though the gaze was nowhere near as Neji's and gently knocked Naruto on the shoulder to stop his laughing at her cousin. Apparently, the gesture worked on the normally uncooperative blond though he still let out a soft snicker at times. During all this, Tenten had continued to stare at the pair in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't he tell you?" Naruto's innocent question struck a stab of pain that brought Tenten back to her senses. _Why indeed?_

"I don't know," Tenten said quietly, her gaze lowering. She could feel Hinata's concerned gaze on her as Tenten started to rub a flat side of the kunai she was holding with her thumb–a habit that would occur when she was confused or nervous-. "I don't know why he wouldn't tell me."

Even Naruto was looking a bit reproachful now, looking as if he regretted letting slip the little fact the Hyuuga and his teammate. "T-tenten maybe you should talk to N-neji-niisan," Hinata suggested softly. Tenten stared at her reflection in the side of the kunai and jumped down from the tree.

"Yeah," she muttered, "I should do that." She set a steady walking pace that she quickly sped up when she was sure that she was out of Hinata's range of vision. _I have to find out what's going on._

She honestly had no idea of what she would have to say to her long time sparring partner when she caught up to him, but one thing was for sure. She wasn't expecting to see anything out of the ordinary. Oh how wrong she was.

When she arrived at the clearing where she had sensed Neji's chakra she padded to the ground and was about to come out of the brush to greet him, but the arrival of another chakra signature stopped her. It was Sakura. Tenten really didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she was stuck. If she left, the movement would alert Neji to her presence and she really didn't want to know what his reaction would be towards that. If she made herself known to the two, Neji would no doubt be agitated, as he had already gone to the trouble to hide all this from her, so she had no choice but to stay.

As the scene played out in front of her, Tenten let some of her mind wander to why Neji would have kept this from her. Then, a horrible fear struck her. Could he have known about her feelings for him and not wanted to hurt her? Or was it some other reason? The interaction between the medic and the genius did nothing to help her rapidly panicking state of mind.

When all seemed to be said and done, Tenten saw Sakura lean up to Neji's face and give him a quick peck on the cheek. Tenten herself had done that a few times, and all of those times, Neji had remained impassive and almost faintly annoyed. She had told herself all those times that it was just to get on Neji's nerves but she knew that wasn't the real reason now. Especially since Neji _didn't_ seem annoyed by the gesture.

After Sakura left the clearing, Neji settled down and into a meditation stance that would have give nothing away to anyone just coming into the situation. What made Tenten's emotions rile up even more was that Neji didn't seem to have noticed her. Was he really so absorbed into Sakura that he completely drowned out any other distractions?

Tenten slowly rose from her spot in the shadows and turned away from Neji to set a new destination._ I have to talk to Neji, but Sakura needs to come first._

* * *

(1) Souryuu Tensakai: Double Dragon Scattering Destruction

(2) Heavenly Spin

Chapter one, edited version, done! –sighs- Now the other chapters. –grumbles- This is what I get for being such a perfectionist. If this still stinks, once again, tell me!

-Quiet Moon


	3. Sakura

**I know. It's been a while.**

* * *

Summary: It's been years since she acknowledged her feelings for him. All she does is think about it, but disaster strikes and what remains is a broken heart. The only distraction, a mission. A mission that could spell her end. Three years later, she's still alive, only to meet the friends she left again.

_thoughts _

_**inner thoughts**_

* * *

The Love that was Always Here, but Never There

Chapter 2: Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Plot bunnies just keep on attacking me, though they tend to die down after the initial encounter.

_I have to talk to Neji, but Sakura needs to come first._

* * *

Training.

That's what had always worked when Tenten needed to relieve her stress. Massacring targets had always worked to release anger, frustration, or any other overabundant emotion. Unfortunately, for this particular situation, training was the farthest thing from her mind. The closest thing on her mind was the scene she had witnessed only a few minutes ago, of Neji and Sakura _embracing_ –embracing, just how in the world did that happen–, the revealing of a secret that had apparently been kept for quite a time.

_Am I jealous?_

_No._

Had another being been with her when she had witnessed the shocking scene, they might have said she was jealous. She might have gone as far to agree with them at the time, but just thinking about it made it clear that it wasn't quite jealousy –or was it–. Just what was it?

Shock was only part

And perhaps betrayal. Betrayal at the fact that Neji hadn't told her about this, _she was his best fried_, so what about her emotions, all that mattered was Ne–

–_**shut up.**_

_Silence._

_**You're making yourself sound like an all-forgiving saint. You promised yourself you'd never become that. Never.**_

_Silence._

_**It's a complete betrayal of everything you stand for. Don't deny it, you are jealous.**_

_Silence._

_**And don't just try to avoid the truth, staying in silence that way.**_

…_What am I supposed to do then?_

If thoughts were capable of being heard, her latest would have come out as a bare whisper.

_Hm? You just told me that I was jealous –alright, I'll admit it, I am jealous. What am I supposed to do then? What am I supposed to do?_

_**Silence.**_

_Don't give me that silent treatment._

_**I'm not doing anything. I am you.**_

_Silence. Nothing._

* * *

"Come on, Sakura, who is it?"

"Ino, I told you; there's no one!"

This was how Tenten found the two when she came across them. She didn't bother to hide her presence, for the two were better kunoichi than that; they were some of the key examples of the fact that one shouldn't judge someone by just their appearance. As usual, the two were up to their daily squabble. When they didn't seem to take note of her presence, she let out a short cough, stopping the two medics in mid-conversation.

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything particularly important…?" Sakura looked at her as if she were her savior.

"Oh, not at all Tenten! Actually, I have to catch up on my hospital duties; my last mission made sure I would miss some. Tsunade-sama wouldn't be happy if she caught me slacking off, so bye!" The attempted escape was sorely obvious. Unfortunately for Sakura, Ino wasn't about to let go. Of course, neither was Tenten, but she wasn't going to admit _that_.

"Oh no you don't, Sakura! Tenten, help me trap her! I need to find out who Sakura's dating!" Tenten stiffened momentarily at the slight confirmation of what she had seen earlier, but thankfully, neither of the bickering kunoichi noticed the movement. Deciding that getting involved in the struggle wouldn't be a good idea; Tenten just stayed around the two, in case Sakura broke free and tried to escape. It was inevitable that she did.

As Sakura tried to pass by, Tenten shot her arm out and grabbed the fleeing medic by the same appendage. "Aak, Tenten! Let me go!"

Tenten looked amused (so she did, when had acting become so natural to her?) as she spoke, "Sorry, Sakura, but I'd rather not face Ino's wrath. That, and I am curious about how you hid this from Ino; she does have a tendency to find out about anything before everyone else." The look Sakura gave her in response to that might have made someone else start breaking out in sweat, but it was as effective as getting Lee to stop his proclamations of devotion to the panicking kunoichi. Speaking of Lee…

Tenten let a gleam spark in her eye. "Is it Lee?" Ino made a choking sound in the background, as Sakura froze and began to turn an odd color. Tenten gave a small chuckle, "Don't worry, I know it isn't. If it were, I'm sure that all of Konoha would have heard by now; Lee can be rather exuberant at times."

There was a low mutter from Ino, "At _times_?"

Sakura still hadn't spoken and had resolved to keep her gaze to the ground and her mouth shut. A sadistic look began to make its appearance in Ino's eyes, a trace of muted triumph was beginning to make its way in as well. What was Ino planning?

"Sakura…" she started in a foreboding voice, "if you don't tell me who it is, I _will_ spread it around the entire village that you're dating Lee." Sakura snapped her head up and stared at Ino in a combination of disbelief, utter horror, and a mix in of a lust of vengeance. Tenten tried to smother her chuckles. Sakura tried to shift her eyes around discreetly, looking for a route of escape, but Tenten made sure to cover all methods of exit.

"It's not like anyone would believe you, Ino," Sakura said, her voice wavering slightly through the attempted steadiness. "Besides, people would start asking Lee and me about it if you did spread that rumor around, and when we both denied it, the real truth value of your gossip would be discovered." Ino looked at her best friend/arch rival contemplatively.

"Hm…true enough, but…" Sakura looked warily at the blond at the 'but'.

"But what?"

"What if I told everyone that you were going out with Neji?" Both Tenten and Sakura stiffened at this comment, though Sakura's reaction was much more blatant to Ino, so she missed Tenten's identical movement. Triumphant revelation flooded Ino's crystalline eyes. "It's Neji, isn't it?"

Sakura rapidly shook her head. "O-of course not! Don't be ridiculous." Unfortunately for her, Ino would never have believed her, and besides, the slight stutter at the beginning of her denial had given it all away. Neither of the bickering kunoichi noticed the third's eyes becoming shadowed at the confirmation of the fact, silently accepting the change of events.

_If she makes you happy…_

_Alright. It's your life, your choice._

Tenten cleared her throat to interrupt the two that looked like they were about to take their mutual verbal lashing to a whole other level. They looked at her, slightly startled by the first sound the weapons mistress had made since Ino's accusation had begun. Tenten looked at Sakura and gave her a slight smile. "It's obvious that you are with Neji, Sakura. You don't need to hide it; the information would have leaked out eventually."

Sakura looked slightly torn about something. "Yeah…but Tenten, you of all people know that Neji doesn't particularly like having more publicity than he already does, and he doesn't even like getting that much attention in the first place!"

Tenten just shrugged. "He'll accept it eventually; he's never been one to wallow in denial for long periods of time. Besides, this was inevitable, wasn't it?"

Sakura's gaze had found its way back to the ground. "Yeah…"

"Then what happens will happen. No use in crying over spilt milk, right?"

Sakura smiled slightly at her usage of the famous saying. "I guess."

Tenten nodded, then proceeded to take Sakura's shoulders, and had her start marching in the direction she had seen Neji last. "Good. Now, go find Neji and tell him the news!"

Utter horror covered the medical prodigy's face again. "W-w-what?! Tenten, are you mad?! You're throwing me into the lion's den! No, not even! You're throwing me into the darkest pits of he-" Tenten gave her a light shove before she could continue ranting in her ear. Ino had watched all this amusedly from her perspective and was now looking at her inquisitively. Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Ino didn't say anything; the silence between the two stretched on before the blond finally broke it.

"Don't you like Neji?" Tenten was momentarily startled by this, but she didn't let it show, though she was apprehensive that a small flicker of it might have flashed in her eyes. She snorted, quickly preparing an answer for the seemingly perceptive kunoichi.

"Of course not. I love him, yes, but in the same way I love Lee, as a brother, a teammate. Not in the way that you're implying." Ino didn't say anything in response to that, and after another silence began to sink in between the two, Tenten shifted to start walking in another direction. All the same, she couldn't help but feel Ino's gaze boring into her back. She couldn't know, right? Even Neji didn't know what she had been hiding, so how could Ino discover it? She convinced herself of this as she continued walking. When she shook herself to her senses, her eyes widened slightly for a moment at the sight of where her feet had taken her.

* * *

_What is a ninja?_

A tool. A tool for destruction, for usage, for orders. A machine.

_What is a façade?_

A mask. An act. Nothing but lies, a fail-safe to hide secrets. All in all, a mask.

_What is a true shinobi?_

One who has completely wiped away all their emotions, broken off all endearments, a true machine. One who has mastered the art of self-illusions, what could be considered a perfect actor. A hollow shell. A shadow of what was once human, a demon almost.

_No…not a demon._

Just a shell. No anger, no happiness, no heartbreak. Perfection.

_What is perfection?_

Emptiness. Nothing.

* * *

_What are you? _

_Are you a true shinobi? _

_A master of masks? _

_A perfection?_

_A façade is all there is. Without it, everything else will crumble. Every single bond, everything that was restraining, anything that held, everything, everything will crumble. Shatter, break, crumble into tiny pieces, be shattered into tiny pieces, break into nothing, carry away on the wind, the wind, the wind, carry away on the wind, carry, break, shatter, crumble…_

* * *

She stared at the trees, the earth, the crater holes, the forest that made it what it was.

_I've made my decision._

_**I can't stop you.**_

_Of course not. How can you stop me when you are me, and I cannot stop myself?_

* * *

She went to a tree, _not just a tree_, and traced the holes that decorated it, going over every one that she could reach. It was smooth, worn down from the years of usage. So smooth…clean. Something she could never be.

* * *

_He trusted me with everything, once. There was a time when there were never any secrets between us, a time when I could have been…_

_…happy._

_**Don't fool yourself. There were always secrets. Happiness…perhaps. But never no secrets. That never existed.**_

_Nothing has that kind of feeling now, though. We made sure to wipe away all figments of the past that were weaknesses a long time ago._

_**Weaknesses? To you, or to him?**_

_Silence._

* * *

"Did you need something?"

Tenten didn't need to turn around to identify the voice of the speaker. She already knew who it was. She always did.

* * *

Chapter two, edited.

I'm not happy about the length of this, but I was planning to cut it off where I did, and there's really nothing else to add. I like the content, but… -shrugs-

And I'm very annoyed with the new document format. It's screwing up all the spacing and dividers I'm trying to put in. If you notice anything strange with it, tell me.

-Quiet Moon


	4. Confrontation

Summary: It's been years since she acknowledged her feelings for him. All she does is think about it, but disaster strikes and what remains is a broken heart. The only distraction, a mission. A mission that could spell her end. Three years later, she's still alive, only to meet the friends she left again.

_thoughts_

_**inner**_ _**thoughts**_

* * *

The Love that was Always Here, but Never There

Chapter 3: Confrontation

"_Did you need something?"_

_Tenten didn't need to turn around to identify the voice of the speaker. She already knew who it was. She always did._

* * *

"Tenten?" The kunoichi turned around to face the speaker, quickly masking any lingering sign of distress from her face, if only temporarily. She greeted the Hyuuga with a small smile.

"Neji." There was nothing else but a simple greeting; there were no other words to be said. Tenten could tell that he had just been around Sakura; he was covered in her scent. That wasn't the real giveaway though. Neji himself hadn't noticed it, but there was a short strand of hair peeking out on the sleeve of his traditional attire. They had been in some kind of physical contact, an embrace by the looks of it –could Neji really have embraced her, embraced a girl that he had known for less than half the time he'd known her.

Her teammate of seven years let his lilac-tinted eyes sweep over her, over her expression, her slightly slouched stance. He closed his eyes with an almost inaudible sigh. "You know," he said in his normally expressionless voice –but was there some kind of resignation in his tone–, "about my…situation."

Tenten looked at him somberly and replied, her voice quiet, "Yes." She didn't question him further about the matter; she never did. It was how things between them had always been. Not to pry into the other's business and for the said being to reveal their secrets when they were accustomed to it. Neji had revealed the corrupt system of his clan to her when they were ten, two years before graduation from the Academy, two years after they had met. Tenten had not told him that she was an orphan until they were eleven, a year before graduation, and three after they had met.

Then again…exactly when _had_ they met? She would say that their official meeting was when they started the Academy, at age eight. But their first encounter…that was an age she could not name. She had not encountered him before his father was killed; that was certain; it was something she would forever regret. She could recall something of the memory; his eyes had seemed so angry the first few times she had glimpsed him. After that…it had not been fury that reigned supreme in those eyes, but hate, malicious hate with a thirst for vengeance, but also knowledge that patience had to exist in order for anything to become accomplished.

That lust for revenge had completely taken him over when they were thirteen, and he fought against his cousin, daughter of the main family, daughter to the house that he so despised. Gai had informed her of his battle at the Chuunin preliminaries solemnly, and she had seen the battle herself on a record of the shattering battle.

But she could not reprimand him. She never did.

After the prodigy's spectacular defeat to Uzumaki Naruto, the lust in his eyes had begun to fade until it had diminished to a mere shadow of its once malicious self, something that would always exist, the bitter resentment left by his father's death, but it retreated, left only to be a demon of the past, an obstacle of life. It was then that Neji became…Neji. She only knew Neji for a short time, when his emotions were flowing wildly, but she had known him, before he became the cold arrogance that ruled his Academy and most of his Genin days. Seeing that being again, the being weighted by the many layers of resentment, had only made her sink further; it only sealed the fact that yes, she loved Hyuuga Neji.

And even now…even now, she could not raise a hand against him.

Neji slowly opened his eyes to look at her with the pupil-less gaze that she had become accustomed to over years of being around him. He still said nothing, waiting to see if she would give any reaction to his confirmation of his interaction, an interaction that he had hidden from her. She really did know him too well, but whether he knew that or not was not something she was willing to willing to delve into nor was she willing to divulge her own characteristics of the matter. So she proceeded to be the first to break the silence. "Do you want something from me?" It was a question, nothing else, but one that had Neji's gaze intent on her own chocolate-brown eyes.

"What is your reaction to this?" A reply. Question and reply was all that would go between them in this.

Tenten inclined her head slightly. "My reaction? You yourself will have already surmised the expected shock and possible contemplation as to why you did not tell me. You only ask me for my reaction because of the side of you that wishes to thrive in ignorance is curious. That is only a small part of you. The rest of you already knows what my reaction was."

Silence stretched between them again. Neji gave some kind of affirmation to her statement, something subtle but blatant to her. "You are not able to brush this off as a trivial matter, though."

Something flashed across her eyes, too fast for Neji to identify what it was before she spoke again, some of her emotion leaking into her voice, "Who would be able to brush off the fact that their best friend was keeping a secret of this caliber from them? If one could do that, then they would not be the friend that one had thought them to be."

"You are upset."

Tenten stilled. "What?" she asked, her voice hollow.

Neji kept his gaze on her as he spoke, "Normally, you would not be speaking to me in the mannerism you are nor would you use the tone that you are." Opaque eyes continued to stare at her as she stared back almost disbelievingly, though with stubbornness. Finally, one of the two relented, as Tenten let out a small sigh.

"Yeah. I guess I am. I wasn't lying earlier though, Neji." Slightly fazed eyes returned to his face to glare almost accusingly at him (but she would never do that; after all, she could never raise her hand against him). "Are you going to explain why you didn't tell me?"

He returned her gaze steadily. "No. How can I, when I myself do not know the answer?"

Tenten sighed and brought a hand to her temple to massage it slightly. "I suppose not."

"You aren't angry then." How could she be? How could she look upon this man, the man who haunted all the realms of her desire, sapped her of her heart, sapped her of any chance of loving another, with contempt? How could she?

"No." Neji nodded, the first solid movement from him since they had started speaking. Once again, silence began to take root, but Tenten broke in before the calamity –was it really– set in completely.

"You spoke to Sakura."

"Yes."

Tenten looked at him wryly. "You weren't too hard on her, were you? After all, not many can escape Ino's persistent questioning. Did she tell you about that?"

"She mentioned something about it, yes, but other than the trace of it from her grumbling, I wasn't able to get much other information. Would you care to elaborate further? I assume that you were there to witness the situation."

Tenten craned her neck to look at the early promoted Jounin –almost ANBU by the looks of current circumstances– who was leaning against a tree,_ the tree_, from where she had plopped herself comfortably in between the roots of the same plant.

"Sure," she replied. "From what the situation looked like when I got there, Ino had probably been interrogating Sakura for a while. She looked at me as if I were her hero, though I actually wasn't." Neji let out a small snort at that, no doubt easily deciphering the meaning of her last statement. "After that, Ino threatened to spread the rumor that Sakura was dating Lee–" the noise he made at that was indiscernible, for Tenten couldn't tell if it was a choking noise or something else; she waited for him to regain his composure before continuing, "–but after realizing that wouldn't work, she replaced Lee with you, and that's when everything came crashing down."

_Silence._

"Neji?"

A sigh, somewhere between exasperation and something else, came from him. "It figures that Yamanaka had something to do with this," he almost grumbled, something that made her lips quirk up slightly. "The news will have spread around the village by the end of today." Even the stoic and gossip-ignoring Hyuuga prodigy knew of the notoriety Yamanaka Ino held with her unquestionable ability to spread gossip, whether it be true or false.

The slight expressional change on Neji's face made itself known to Tenten's face as well. "It would have leaked out eventually, you know that," she remarked. Neji's opaque eyes stared at her, almost as if looking through her.

"Regardless, privacy is always valued."

"Since when has privacy existed in abundance with Ino?"

"…"

"Neji?"

"You are trying to distract me from something." Startled brown eyes flew up to meet his.

"What?"

"You are trying to distract me from something." It was a statement, nothing else, but it was one that made Tenten wonder exactly how much her teammate _did_ see. She needed to know…she needed to hide things again; it would not do if she underestimated him.

"…oh!" A thought just came to her, something that she had let slip from her mind due to the past myriad of events. She could use that and feign that that had been the matter she had not revealed to him. "That…well, it was about Naruto and Hinata."

"And the news that they are courting?" Slightly surprised and exasperated orbs met lilac.

"You knew?" she asked dryly.

"Hn." She gave a short laugh at that. Trust Neji to do something like that.

"So you just kept quiet about your knowledge to torture Naruto further. You're still not completely over your defeat to the guy, are you?" It was a joke, all the same, but it still lead to the disgruntled look that Neji sent her way. "Well then, I think that you had better confront him about it soon if you want to scare him."

"If I desire to recieve the maximum result, a direct confrontation will best be avoided. Subtle hints towards what misery is going to befall him before the climax will procure the best result." The monotone recital was straightforward and didn't fail to get slight chuckles from the weapons mistress.

"Sadistic Hyuuga Neji. Who would have thought…" The last statement wasn't a question. Her amusement died away quickly though, the need for something making itself known. "What are you going to do now?"

"What I will do will come when it will."

Quiet dark lights looked at him.

"I see."

* * *

Tenten leaned against a wall for support, even as she slowly slid down, allowing her knees to bend in the slow but steady process. It was a miracle that she had been able to hold her composure for as long as she did. Maybe that was just something that came with being around Neji. The irony in that possibility was not lost upon the exhausted _(exhausted, what a perfect word, exhausted describes everything)_ kunoichi. While the control of some might falter in the presence of one they endeared, it seemed as if her control strengthened in that situation…

She laughed out loud.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, head bowed and shadows dancing and decorating her body, but it seemed like hours _(just what would an hour be? Sixty minutes? Then what would a minute be? What would it be?)_.

It seemed like hours again had passed when two figures found her. One kneeled by her side while the other crouched and placed an arm around her shoulders. The kneeling one made to speak, but the crouching one stopped her with a motion of her hand. They stayed with her for another period of time, one that seemed even longer than the last two, even with the presence of company.

Finally, she spoke, even if it was a pointless question, one she probably already knew the answer to. "Why are you here?"

The crouched figure sighed and replied, "I know the face of a broken woman, Tenten. Particularly one who has shattered from a broken heart."

Tenten let out an undignified snort. "Really? How would you know that, Ino?"

Ino sighed again and moved to seat herself next to the weapons mistress in order to make herself more comfortable. "I just know, Tenten, and you know why."

Of course, she knew.

* * *

She walked slowly for the second time that day, though a completely different destination was in mind than the previous.

* * *

"_What will you do?"_

"_What I will do will come when it will."_

_An imperceptible wince came from her other side._

"_You understand why as well, don't you Hinata?"_

_Silence._

_A soft whisper came as a reply. "Yes, I do, Tenten, Ino."_

* * *

Had the Hokage's tower always stood so imperiously, seeming to reach the sky? Or was it merely an effect of her situation? Then again, she might have just never noticed it before, too caught up in her own affairs and happiness to take note of it.

Thinking of what she had done in the past made Tenten snort. Just how many times had she walked around nonchalantly, not noticing what was around her? Such a move was fatal for a shinobi.

The descent up the steps to the Hokage's office was eerily empty. It was normal, she supposed, as it was rather late at night, and the only other humans she had sensed in the building were the normal chuunin guards. Still, to only notice it now…

She shook her head, glad for the rare emptiness that seemed to be present. Such affairs were not something she could think of now. Now, she had to clear her mind of everything.

The sound of her knocking on the door filled her ears immediately, which seemed louder than usual. Was nothing what she normally saw?

"Come in!" Not even the Hokage's voice seemed the same to her.

* * *

Mreh, you already know what's going to happen, those of you who read the (horribly messy) original version, though you could call the first part of the chapter a bit of a NejiTenten moment, if you really wanted to. I don't see him sharing that kind of experience with Sakura.

Just a note: During the time period of June 29 to July 18, I will be without access to a computer. However, I don't believe this will have too much of an effect on my updating time, as it was rather slow in the first place.

Criticism would be appreciated. If grammatical errors are located, mention of them would be appreciated as well.

-Quiet Moon


	5. Catalyst

**There's really no excuse. Just this.**

* * *

Summary: It's been years since she acknowledged her feelings for him. All she does is think about it, but disaster strikes and what remains is a broken heart. The only distraction, a mission. A mission that could spell her end. Three years later, she's still alive, only to meet the friends she left again.

_thoughts _

_**inner thoughts**_

* * *

The Love that was Always Here, but Never There

Chapter 4: Catalyst

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Tsunade's office was not an abnormal sight, once one got used the unusualness of it all. Bottles of alcohol were strewn around here and there more often than not, and when it was not, the bottles could usually be found stored away haphazardly, as precious as they were to the Godaime Hokage. Despite all her power, one of the things the last Senju could not withstand was the wrath of her first apprentice and assistant, Shizune. Wonders never ceased, as bribery with the substance was something that worked nearly to perfection in getting Tsunade to complete her paperwork.

Sometimes, there would be papers scattered throughout the room with Tsunade muttering obscenities about her assistant. Those were times that the Hokage was best not bothered, but of course, that paradise would be too good to be true, due to one sole Uzumaki Naruto. The loud-mouthed Hokage-to-be had a tendency of being an extreme thorn in nearly everyone's side.

When Tenten stepped into the small office after receiving permission to do so, the Hokage was not surrounded by mountains of paperwork –at least no more so than the usual amount-, and she wasn't trying to down bottles of the sake she so enjoyed. Instead, Tsunade was sitting on the edge of her desk, facing the windows that showed the expanse of the village, with her hands bracing her position.

"Are you just going to stand in the door's shadow and let more hot air in, or are you going to come in?" Tenten said nothing as she shut the door and stepped forward to stand at a point where her eyes met the Godaime's back. Silence droned on between the two, as the Hokage seemed to content herself with just letting her gaze wander and sweep over the village. Finally, she spoke again. "Take a walk with me, Tenten."

The weapons wielding kunoichi locked gazes with the Hokage. Amber bore into chocolate brown before the brown relented, and the owner nodded.

As the two kunoichi walked towards whatever destination awaited them, the younger following the older, shadows danced and flickered over the parts of the face in the light, casting odd shapes on the blonde's seemingly young face, giving the seal on her forehead a strange glow. The flickers on the brunette's face arranged themselves into strangely eerie shapes, twisted shapes that curled into themselves and each other. The reason for the oddly intricate shapes was revealed when Tenten let her gaze wander to the side to spot a broken window.

The glass was cracked in many places, with holes littering the webbing detail. There were very few spots that had remained unharmed on the glass; they were mostly scattered around the edge. However, there was a one piece that stood out from the others. It was smaller than some of the other pieces, but it was located near the middle, closer to the main area of the breaking. The shape was different from the rest of the shattered pieces; it was slightly raised on one side, and dry specks of what seemed to be glue or something similar were stuck on various areas of the tiny piece.

Tsunade noticed the slight pause in Tenten's step and took note of the reason for the stop. She walked over to the broken window of Tenten's attention, and a small, amused smile played on her lips. "Curious about this window, aren't you?"

Again, Tenten stayed silent. Tsunade just beckoned for her to come closer as she explained, "As you might have guessed, Naruto had a hand in this accident. The idiot somehow broke the window with a small stack of paper. Then again, Naruto does tend to pull off miracles, even though some of them aren't the most pleasant.

"This particular incident was shortly after my inauguration as Hokage; my assumption is that someone sent him here with something for me, but whatever it was, I don't know. It wasn't that important, I know, because the employees that clean the building are told to bring all papers to the chuunin in charge of the minor paperwork; if the content is confidential or important, they will know without having to read it, and they know to turn it into Shizune. This way, nothing crucial is missed or lost, or at least the loss is much reduced.

"This particular window was never repaired for some reason that I don't know of, but it was finally scheduled for replacement recently. The little specks of glue are from Naruto's haphazard attempt at repairing the break before anyone noticed it; frankly, I don't know why he did it.

"I assume that it was because he knew that I was already rather annoyed with him for another incident. That, and I wasn't the only one that had their frustration caused by him. The one he was most scared of besides me was Sakura, who had begun to increase her brute strength due to my tutelage of her, and apparently, she was looking for any reason to take out her annoyance on him, regardless of any lack of connection to her."

Though her words were of insult, there was no malice in her tone, only affection as a mother would have for her child. Even after this extensive description, Tenten said nothing in reply. Tsunade looked over at her again after the silence began to stretch. "You want to get down to business, then?"

"Yes." It was the first word she had said since entering the Hokage tower.

x

"_I am giving you a mission, Tenten." The kunoichi being spoken to furrowed her brow in confusion._

"_Yes, I know that, but why have you been sending me out in this disguise to complete some assignments while I take other missions in my normal appearance? And now, you're telling me that you are intending to send me blindly on yet another mission. Which appearance am I taking on this time? The mysterious Fumiko or the weapons mistress of Konoha, Tenten?"_

_Tsunade waited until Tenten finished her tirade to speak. "I am not sending you blindly on a mission; I am giving you all the information about this one. All of the assignments that I have sent you on under the alias Fumiko have been a precursor for this mission."_

_That stopped Tenten, who looked like she was about to start off another firing of her thoughts. Why would the Hokage have sent her on all these missions that would be necessary for a more prominent one without telling her of the goal in the first place? Giving her that much information would not have deterred her performance; it might as well have strengthened it. Tenten did not voice those thoughts, but the perplexed manner was apparent on her face as she debated the issue. Tsunade silently observed the younger female before launching into explanation._

"_Giving you more information would have been hazardous in the long run. Had you been captured, the main plans would have been at risk for discovery. We cannot risk anything unnecessarily. Particularly since it is you, Tenten, who is the one that will be taking this mission. You are the best candidate for this mission in this current situation."_

"_What?"_

_Tsunade laced her fingers together as she locked her serious gaze with Tenten's slightly disbelieving one and said, "I will tell you this because if this issue becomes a problem that has to be officially acknowledged by Konoha, you will hear of it anyway, regardless of whether you take this assignment or not. There has been trouble stirring in the Land of Lightning, trouble enough that Konoha has to take note of it," she added in at the opening of Tenten's mouth; Tenten looked like she was about to voice her thoughts on the matter._

_When the Hokage was sure that she would not be interrupted, she continued. "A criminal organization calling itself the Nayami Tomoshibi has raised trouble in the Land of Lightning. If the locations had stayed in Lightning, Konoha may have been able to ignore it. However, the locations of the attacks have been slowly edging closer and closer to the Land of Fire. Spies positioned near the various points of attack have sent information that the goal may be Konoha._

"_There is other information that puts more question to the goal of the Nayami Tomoshibi, though. Other information has told me that the organization exists for no other reason than to torture and kill anyone that is in their way."_

"_Tsunade-sama," Tenten interrupted, "wouldn't the killing of anyone who gets in their way be some kind of factor to an overall plan?"_

_Tsunade looked over at the younger kunoichi sternly for the interruption. "Yes, that has been considered. Going back to the original point now, I have been sending you on these missions as a way to build up your reputation in the underground. This has all been done so that the Nayami Tomoshibi will take notice of you." Silence greeted the Godaime when she finished her explanation._

_Tenten spoke slowly, "So basically…I am to infiltrate the Nayami Tomoshibi to uncover information."_

"_Yes. That is correct. There is another goal: use that information so that Konoha can dismantle that organization."_

"_I see. How long…?"_

"_The length of this mission is undetermined. It may take years."_

"…"

_Hardened amber eyes seemed to soften for a moment. "You don't necessarily have to take this mission, Tenten. There are others that I can send for this. Just consider it."_

x

"The last known operating spot for the Nayami Tomoshibi is in Fuchi. (1) However, you will not be going to Fuchi. There is an assignment I want you to carry out approximately forty miles away from it, in Seidou. (2) There is a man named Takahashi Kenji who is said to have worked with the Nayami Tomoshibi until recently. Rumors have spread that he betrayed them, and the organization is out for his life. You will be the one to eliminate him. That will attract the attention of the Nayami Tomoshibi. Once you have been drawn into their circle, there will be no going back. You and I both know what the risks of this mission are. Do you understand, Fumiko?"

x

A soft padding took its place into the sound waves in a clearing that was devoid of any human life except for one. When the padding stopped, a noise of scratching took its place for a short while. After that faded, there was only silence, as the wind blew excess chips away.

_When I leave, I will be Tenten. When I return, I will be Tenten no longer._

x

Rain had started to pour shortly after Tenten had left Konoha and continued to come down in random periods. There was no human life for miles, she could sense from the lack of chakra as she sped through a forest, causing moderate splashes when one of her feet came into contact with puddles left by the rain. Splashes would distort the flash of black that occasionally came into view onto the reflective liquid. The glimpsed image came into full focus after a few hours when the kunoichi crouched down to refill her canteen from a water source she deemed clean enough.

Ripples covered the picture before they faded as the female ran small tendrils of chakra through the collected water to ensure no elusive contaminants had made their way into her supply. Black hair that would have reached the point of the kunoichi's mid-back, had it been let down, was tied into a ponytail a few centimeters above the nape. A few bangs escaped the tie and fell loosely over her face to reveal icy blue eyes. Scrolling downward would display a harshly defined face with sharp, angular features and thin, pursed lips.

Then, the water was decorated with ripples yet again as the kunoichi took off across the surface of the small stream.

x

Seidou seemed to be a quiet town, a place that would not have been high up on the list of suspected locations for an underground operation. Of course, the placid appearance could have been a cover that was constructed for the convenience of whoever decided to hide away there. From the information that Tenten had been given, Seidou was more of a rural town. It didn't seem to involve itself in the latest economic advance; the residents of the town seemed conservative. Tenten agreed with that view until she walked into the northern sector of the town.

The northern sector was one of the smaller parts of Seidou, but it was filled with things that were enough to convince the kunoichi that there was much more going on in Seidou than what first met the eye. To put things quite bluntly, the first thing that came into Tenten's mind when she saw the northern sector was 'red-light district'. It had everything that would define a red-light district, but Tenten paid no heed to that. What caught her attention was a moderately sized-building that _definitely_ had to belong to a richer man than most of the residents that inhabited the rest of Seidou.

When Tenten had walked into Seidou through the southern sector, it had been early morning and there had been a good number of farmers starting their day. They had come out of simple and small houses; when they had caught a glimpse of her, they had cast wary glances as discreetly as they could around a shinobi but carried on their business as if nothing had happened.

Compared to what she was seeing now, the contrast was so startling that one might have thought the two sectors to exist in two different towns.

The building that now had her complete attention seemed to be constructed of bricks, at least on the outside. There were two guards stationed at a set of double doors, a sight that raised suspicions and questions in Tenten's head immediately. Was the owner trying to go right out and put a blaring alarm on him that signaled every mercenary or such after his blood to his location? Whether he was trying to or not, he was an idiot. Tenten had no doubt that this very conspicuous building belonged to Takahashi Kenji. However, the question of whether he was in the building itself was still ringing.

A simple survey of the area would serve to remedy that question.

x

_Oh yeah. This man is such an idiot._

Tenten wondered if Takahashi was deliberately signing his death wish. She had followed a seemingly unsuspecting guard into the building by a side-door. After observing the rather oblivious man (in her opinion) for a few minutes, she gathered that he was no one of particular significance in his current state, so she knocked him out. It turned out that he was _much_ more useful in this state. Apparently, there had been a map of the entire premises in a pocket that was not at all hidden.

In fact, right in middle of the map, there was a prominent marking. A marking that she had seen before on a list of images the Hokage had told her to look out for. Since that was the only familiar mark that she could see on the map (and the map itself had absolutely no traces of tricks or chakra on it that attempted to hide something; she had checked), Tenten was willingly to bet that the location that the mark indicated towards was either where Takahashi had stowed himself away to or was the hiding place of something else rather important.

Whatever, or whoever was at that location, it would result in Takahashi's death.

x

There were three chakra signatures in that room, Tenten sensed, with a fourth standing guard outside. One of the four chakras was much weaker than the rest; at civilian level, really, so it could be assume that that particular chakra was Takahashi, Tenten decided. The other three were no doubt those of trained shinobi, albeit rather poorly trained ones. They were no more than chuunin level, probably. Maybe they were even rogues. She had hidden her own chakra, and since the chakra levels of the shinobi had not abruptly risen, it could be assumed that they had not sensed her yet.

A quick and silent knockout would be the best method for this situation, Tenten decided. She quickly darted from the shadows and a cluster of senbon suddenly pierced the chest of the rather bulky guard standing outside. Tenten caught the falling corpse before it hit the floor and quietly dragged it into one of the darker corners of the body. After hiding the body, Tenten sped a good distance away and transformed her appearance to that of the now dead guard, which she had briefly caught in the dim light. She sped back to the room and opened the unlocked door.

The one with the civilian chakra was the first to snap his head up when the door opened. "What is it?" he snapped, and Tenten got a good look at him. Dark brown hair with dark green eyes, a slightly muscular build, and medium height was what she assessed after a moment. The description fit the one she had been given of Takahashi.

"I sensed a foreign chakra just now," she murmured in a low voice, a sharp contrast from her normal tone. The two shinobi in the room tensed at her words, and one of them looked over at her. The other kept his head lowered. The two shinobi were positioned in different spots in the room; the one who had looked over at her was closer to Takahashi –close enough that he could defend Takahashi, but not so close that he could land in the way of fire. The other one was located near the back of the room in a spot that made it easy to aim at any intruder that came in through the only entrance.

"How did you sense this chakra when Hiratai did not?" the shinobi looking over at her demanded. Hiratai was the one with the chuunin level skill, it seemed.

"I do not know." The unnamed shinobi frowned to himself.

"That's just too suspi–" His eyes widened as he was cut off and he fell to the floor with the same expression on his face as Tenten swiveled slightly to face Hiratai.

Hiratai had been leaning against the wall when Tenten had entered in the third shinobi's form, but he pushed himself off of his support and began walking towards her. Tenten took a wary step back and crouched into a position that would make it easier to defend and if necessary, escape. Suddenly, Hiratai pulled out a twin set of sabers and met her eyes as he crossed them with an eerie clang. (3) Tenten's own eyes widened as his chakra level suddenly spiked, and he began to saunter towards her. Hiratai wasn't chuunin level –he was at least a jounin! Her appearance suddenly wavered and in a flash, she had returned to the image of the disguised female and summoned two of her own blades, katana.

She copied the way he was holding his sabers and crossed her katana as well. They began to encircle each other slowly, neither of the two attempting to edge closer or farther from the other. Then, Hiratai lunged at her, uncrossing the sabers to slash at her with the one in his left hand. Tenten ducked to avoid the blade and blocked Hiratai's right blade that had been aimed at her chest with her left katana. Then she jumped and pushed her feet off of the two locked blades while keeping an eye out for his other saber. Tenten used the momentum to launch herself up above Hiratai's head and slashed downward at an open spot in his guard.

Hiratai blocked her stroke easily and stabbed his free saber at her chest again. Tenten couldn't block it this time, so she moved her body slightly so that the saber cut her arm instead. She used the distraction to kick him in the chest, sending him downward and across the floor. Without wasting a moment, she used the sudden advantage to dissipate her katana and launch towards Hiratai's fallen form.

Hiratai had dropped his sabers in his fall and had no chance to defend himself as Tenten quickly slashed across his throat with a kunai. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his body lost all tension. He was dead.

Tenten straightened her body and turned her head slightly to get a look at Takahashi. What greeted her was not expected.

He didn't seem as scared as he should be, after watching that display. After all, she had just eliminated his strongest guard! In fact, he didn't seem that scared at all. There were traces of fear in his appearance, but he seemed more shocked that anything else.

It was then that another revealing made Tenten aware of the reason why. Another chakra signature was now in the room. It was more powerful than Hiratai's had been. And it was right behind her. She was defenseless. This new presence could kill her in an instant.

"Hm…interesting. What do we have here?"

* * *

-cough- I was planning on cutting it off there, by the way.

(1) Fuchi –Abyss

(2) Seidou –Sanctuary

(3) A saber is a sword that is usually curved, but not necessarily always. It also has a large hand guard that will cover the knuckles, thumb, and forefinger.

As I said in the beginning, I have no excuse for making this so late. I'm hoping that all the information and length that makes up this chapter will compensate a little, but my hopes aren't high. Unfortunately, I can't promise a fast update, either. School will be starting soon, and I'll be busier than ever before.

And a request, if you could acquiesce: if Tenten, or any other character for that matter, seems to be leaning towards the Mary Sue side, please do not hesitate to inform me. Also, if there are any other problems, mentioning those will also be appreciated.

I am also aware that there are several glaringly obvious mistakes in this. I will correct them tomorrow. At the moment, I am in a rush.

This note is really too long.


	6. Chapter 6

First of all, I apologize for my prolonged period of absence. I would blame it on school, but that is only part of the reason. I won't take up more time than needed with blabbered excuses.

As of today, LTWAH is going on indefinite hiatus. There is no spark anymore, and it is becoming increasingly obvious to me that I have to force myself to write. Of course, the latest updates to the canon aren't really helping.

Maybe I'll come back to this. Maybe. However, it will most likely not be occurring anytime soon.

Also, please state whether or not this story should stay posted. As it is an unfinished piece, I would rather not allow others to be left wondering for what may occur next.

Please send all commentsand questions to me via PM. I will also post a poll, to gain opinion on the existence of LTWAH on this site. I will still be around, just perhaps not as an author.

Apologies once again.

-Quiet Moon


End file.
